Occupant-propelled merry-go-round



June 9, 1964 A. P. JENNlsoN ETAL 3,136,542

occUPANT-PROPELLED MERRY-Go-ROUND 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 18, 1965 y Ivm/2R05 f iw/50N BY MARK I. PLACE M, duw, m JLM TTOR/VEVS.

June 9, 1964 .A. P. JENNlsoN ETAL 3,136,542

OCCUPANT-PROPELLED MERRY-GO-ROUND Filed Feb. 18, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheec 2 lluI 36 l /7 2/ nl WOIIEIU 7'TORNEY5 June 9, 1964 A. P. JENNlsoN x-:TAL 3,136,542

Filed Feb. 18, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS.

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United States Patent 3,136,542 OCCUPANT-PROPELLED MERRY-GO-ROUND Anthony P. lennison, 549 Patterson Road, Bethel Park,

Pa.; Joseph Jennson, 1924 Sidney St., Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Mark I. Place, 1146 Airedale Drive, Bethel Park, Pa.

Filed Feb. 18, 1963, Ser. No. 259,236 7 Claims. (Cl. 272-30) This invention relates to merry-go-rounds, and more particularly to those that are operated by the bodily movements of children riding on them.

Merry-gorounds for children are known in which the children ride on seats that they rock back and forth. This rocking action operates mechanism that causes the seated children to travel in a circle around a supporting center post. Nevertheless, it is among the objects of this invention to improve on such merry-go-rounds by means of a simple and inexpensive construction which is very sturdy, safe and free of maintenance.

In accordance with this invention, a horizontal bevel gear is rigidly mounted on the upper end of a stationary post which is encircled by a rotatable vertical sleeve. A gear housing is secured to the sleeve and extends up past the gear to support the opposite ends of a horizontal shaft above the gear. Mounted on the shaft is a pair of vertical bevel gears that mesh with the horizontal gear at diametrically opposite points. Mounted on the shaft between the vertical gears is a pair of one-Way clutches, which are held from turning on the shaft. A pair of occupant seats at opposite sides of the post are rigidly connected with the opposite ends of the shaft so that when the seats are rocked the shaft will be oscillated. One of the clutches turns the adjoining vertical gear when the shaft is turned in one direction and the other clutch turns the other vertical gear when the shaft is turned in the opposite direction. This causes the vertical gears to travel around the horizontal gear to carry the seats in a circular path around the post. The clutches may make use of either ratchet teeth or sprags.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a plan View of our merry-go-round;

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side View turned 90 from FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section on the line IV-IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side view, partly in section, of the merrygoround;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in section;

FIG. 7 is a vertical section on the line VII-VII of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary vertical section on the line kVIII-VIII of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a view, similar to FIG. 5, of a modification; and

FIG. l is a vertical section on the line X-X of FIG. 9.

Referring to FIGS. l to 8 of the drawings, a base is formed from four legs 1 and a cap 2. The legs radiate from a center point and have nearly horizontal outer portions and upwardly inclined inner portions that extend up into the cap. The cap is a cast or sheet metal member that is tapered upwardly and provided with four inclined inverted channels 3 that form sockets for receiving the legs. Screws 4 fasten the legs in the sockets. The upper ends of the legs bear against the lower portion of a hollow vertical post that extends up through the top of the cap and a considerable distance above it. The post is held stationary by bolts 6 extending through it and the ICC cap. Rigidly mounted on the upper end of the post is a horizontal bevel gear 7, the teeth of which face upwardly. Encircling the post between the gear and base is a metal sleeve 9, the opposite ends of which are mounted on bearf ings 10 that are journaled on the post. Welded or otherwise rigidly fastened to the upper part of the sleeve is the lower portion of a gear housing 11 that extends up past opposite sides of gear 7 and over it. As shown in FIG. 5, two opposite sides of this housing are provided with aligned openings, in which bearings 12 are mounted. These bearings support the opposite ends of a horizontal shaft 13 that extends across the top of the gear. To reduce the cost of manufacture, all of the bearings that have been mentioned may be the same size and shape and preferably are made of nylon.

Journaled on the horizontal shaft inside the gear housing is a pair of vertical bevel gears 15 and 16 that are held in engagement with the lower gear by means of the bearings 12. It will be seen that the horizontal gear is engaged by the vertical gears at diametrically opposite points. Clutches are mounted on the shaft between the vertical gears for turning one or the other of them, depending upon which direction the shaft is turned, because the clutches are prevented from turning on the shaft. Preferably, the central portion of the shaft is provided with a slot 17 extending diametrically through it. Thev slot extends lengthwise of the shaft far enough to project into two encircling clutch collars 1S and 19. A retaining pin 21 extends through each collar and the slot, in which the pin can slide lengthwise of the shaft. The two collars are urged apart and into engagement with the adjoining gears by a coil spring 22 encircling the shaft between them. Each clutch collar and adjoining gear is provided with normally interengaging ratchet teeth 23. When shaft 13 is viewed from either end, the radial faces of the ratchet teeth on one clutch collar face in a clockwise direction while those on the other collar face in a counterclockwise direction. Consequently, when the shaft is turned in one direction one of the clutch collars will turn the adjoining vertical gear with it, but theother collar will slip against the other vertical gear because the coil spring allows the second collar to move inwardly on the shaft so that the collar teeth can slide over the teeth on the adjoining gear.

In order to oscillate the horizontalV shaft 13 to cause the vertical gears to travel around the horizontal gear, a rocking seat is rigidly connected With each end of the shaft. For this purpose, the shaft preferably extends out beyond the gear housing a few inches in order to support the inner end of a rigid tubeZS. This tube is rigidly connected to the shaft, such as by a set screw 26. The outer end of the tubev supports the seat for a child. In order to lower the center of gravity of the child for better and safer operation of the merry-go-round, each tube preferably curves downward from the end of the shaft and then outward and upward in the general shape of the letter J as shown in FIG. 2. Rigidly mounted on the outer end of the tube, or on the bent upper end of a stub tube 27 secured in it and projecting a short distance above it, is a curved support 28 for a seat. The seat itself preferably is formed by the back of a replica of suitable size of an animal 29, a horse being the most popular one.v The support extends up into the horse, which is rigidly mounted on it in any suitable manner. The horse may be provided with stirrups 31 suspended from a cross bar 32 extending through the shoulders of the horse. The backs of the horses, on which the children sit, are below the' axis of shaft 13, so the centers of gravity of the riders are low enough to prevent the merry-go-round from being top heavy and unstable.

After children have seated themselves on the horses, they start to rock the horses'forward and backward in unison, one horse rocking backward as the other rocks forward. The horses preferably face in such a direction that the forwardly rocking horse will cause the adjacent clutch to engage while the other clutch slips against its gear. This other clutch is engaged when the other horse is rocked forward. Consequently, the vertical gears alternate in being the driving gear, which causes both gears to travel around the horizontal gear and thereby rotate sleeve 9 around center post 5 to carry the horses forward in a circular path around the post.

To be sure that the horses will always be horizontal when no child is riding them, and also to aidin returning them to that position from the ends of the vertical arcs in which they are rocked, it is desirable to provide springs that will resist rocking of the horses from their normal horizontal position and that will tend to return them to it. Most suitably, these springs are torsion springs 35 surrounding the inner ends of the tubes 25. One end of each spring is bent radially inward and extends into a radial bore in shaft 13, while the opposite end of the Vspring is bent radially outward and is retained in a loop 36 struck out of the adjoining side of the gear housing. Rocking of the shaft in either direction will put tension on the spring, which will therefore attempt to return the shaft to its original position.

In the modification shown in FIGS. 9 and l0 the gears are made of nylon and the horizontal gear 4t) has a downwardly extending hub 41 that encircles the upper end of the stationary post 42 and forms a bearing around which the gear housing 43 can rotate. The gear housing has a downwardly extending hub 44 encircled byV the upper end of a vertical sleeve 4S, the lower end of which rests on a bearing 46 that encircles a hub 47 on top of the base 48'that supports the center post. The hubs of the two vertical gears 50 and 51 are journaled in the opposite sides Vof the gear housing, and these gears mesh with the gear below them.

Extending through the vertical gears and meeting at the center of the gear housing are tubes 52, on the outer ends of which seats are mounted in the mannershown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The inner ends of these tubes extend into a hollow shaft 53, to which they are rigidly fastened by cross pins 54. The opposite ends of the hollow shaft are provided with diametrically opposite recesses S that receive lugs 56 projecting from the inner faces of a pair of clutch collars 57 and 5S, whereby the collars and shaft and tubes are all rigidly connected together. In effect, the tubes and hollow shaft form a unitary shaft journaled in the vertical gears.

Each clutch collar extends into a circular recess in thev adjoining gear and engages the face of the gear so that the collar is encircled by an externally toothed rim 60 spaced radially fromV the collar. As shown in FIG. lO, the collars areV providedwith circumferentially spaced notches 61, in each of which rocks the lower end of a generally triangular sprag 62, a portion of which is longer than the radial distance between the collar and the rim of the gear. That is, with the sprag extending radially of the collar and gear, only one outer corner of the sprag engages the gear rim, with which it is held in engagement by means of a spring 63 pressing against the adjacent side of the sprag and anchored in the collar.

i Itwill be seen in FIG. l0 that when clutch collar 57 is turned in a clockwise direction the sprags will slide against the gear rim without turning the gear. However, when the collar is turnedin the opposite direction the frictionof the sprags against the gear rim will stop the sliding, while the attempt of the collar to rotate relative to the gear will press the sprags tightly against the gear rim and thereby rotate the gear with the collar. `The sprags on the two clutch collars are so arranged that when hollow shaft 53 is turned by tubes 52 in one direction one of the vertical gears will be turned by its clutch while the other clutch will slip. When the shaft is rotated in the opposite direction the first clutch will slip i and the second one will turn lits gear, whereby the gears will travel around the stationary horizontal gear in the manner described in connection with the first embodirnent'of this invention.

The merry-go-round disclosed herein is easy to construct and hence relatively inexpensive to build. A large part of it is made of tubes. All of the bearings are alike, and the three gears can be made alike if desired. The clutch mechanisms are simple but effective. The apparatus can be shipped in the knock-down and easily assembled by the user.

According to theV provisions of the patent statutes, we have explained the principle of our invention and have illustrated and described what we now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, we desire to have it understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specically illustrated and described.

We claim: j

l. An occupant-propelled merry-go-round comprising a base, a vertical post rigidly supported by the base, a vertical sleeve rotatably mounted on the post below its upper end, a horizontal bevel gear rigidly mounted on the upper end of the post with its'teeth facing upwardly, a gear housing rigidly mounted on the sleeve and extending up past said gear, a horizontal shaft oscillatably mounted in said housing above the gear, a pair of vertical bevel gears in the housing journaled on the shaft and meshing with the horizontall gear at diametrically opposite points, a pair of one-way clutches engaging the shaft between said vertical gears in engagement with them, .means holding the clutches from turning relative to the shaft, a pair of occupant seats at opposite sides of said post, and means rigidly connected to the opposite ends of said shaft and to said seats to support the seats so that when they are rocked the shaft will be oscillated, one of said clutches turning the adjoining vertical gear when thev shaft is turned in one direction and the other clutch turning the other vertical gear when the shaft is turned in the opposite direction, whereby the vertical gears will travel around the horizontal gear to carry said seats in a circular path around the post.

2. An occupant-propelled merry-go-round according to claim l, in which said seat-supporting means include a pair of rigid tubes, each tube extending outward from one end of said shaft and then being J-shape with one of said seats rigidly mounted on its outer end.

3. An occupant-propelled merry-go-round according to claim l, including springs resisting rocking of said seats Vfrom a predetermined normal position.

4. An occupant-propelled merry-goround according to claim l, including a torsion spring surrounding each seatsupporting means and having its opposite ends secured thereto and to the gear housing, whereby to resist rocking of said seats in either direction from a predetermined normal position.

l 5. An occupant-propelled merry-go-round comprising a base, a Vertical post rigidly supportedV by the base, a verti YVCal'sleeve rotatably mounted on the postbelow its upper end, a horizontal bevel gearrigidly mounted on the upper end of the post with its teeth facing upwardly, a gear housing rigidly mounted on the sleeve and extending up past said gear, a horizontal shaft oscillatably mounted in opposite sides of said housing above the gear, a pair of vertical bevel gears in the housing journaled on the shaft and meshing with the horizontal gear at diametrically opposite points, a pair of axially spaced clutch collars slidaoly mounted on the shaft between said vertical gears, means holding the collars from turning on the shaft, resilient means between the collars urging them outward against the vertical gears, each engaging collar and gear being provided with normally interengaging ratchet teeth, a pair of occupant seats at opposite sides of said post, and means rigidly connected tothe opposite ends of said shaft and to said seats to support the seats so that when amena-2 they are rocked the shaft will be oscillated, and said ratchet teeth being so forrned that when the shaft is turned in either direction one or the other of the clutch collars will turn the adjoining Vertical gear while the other collar will turn relative to the other vertical gear, whereby the vertical gears will travel around the horizontal gear to carry said seats in a circular path around the post.

6. An occupant-propelled merry-go-round according to claim 5, in which said shaft is provided with a central longitudinal slot extending diametrically therethrough, and said collar-holding means include radial pins slidably mounted in said slot with their ends mounted in the clutch collars.

7. An occupantpropelled merry-go-round comprising a base, a vertical post rigidly supported by the base, a vertical sleeve rotatably mounted on the post below its upper end, a horizontal bevel gear rigidly mounted on the upper end of the post with its teeth facing upwardly, a gear housing rigidly mounted on the sleeve aud extending up past said gear, a horizontal shaft oscillatably mounted in said housing above the gear, a pair of vertical bevel gears in the housing journaled on the shaft and meshing with the horizontal gear at diametrically opposite points, a pair of clutch collars engaging the shaft between said Vertical gears, means holding the collars from turning relative to the shaft, the vertical gears having rims encircling said collars, sprags extending from each clutch collar to the encircling gear rim and being slightly longer than the radial distance between the collar and rim, springs mounted on the collars and pressing the outer ends of the sprags in a circumferential direction to hold their outer ends against the gear rims so that when a collar is turned in the opposite direction the adjoining sprags will turn the adjoining gear, a pair of occupant seats at opposite sides of said post, and means rigidly connecting the opposite ends of said shaft to said seats to support the seats so that when the seats are rocked the shaft will be oscillated, and said sprags and springs being so positioned that when the shaft is turned in either direction one or the other of the clutch collars and its sprags will turn the adjoining vertical gear while the sprags of the other collar will slip against the rim of the other vertical gear, whereby the Vertical gears will travel around the horizontal gear to carry said seats in a circular path around the post.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,421,907 Callais July 4, 1922 1,732,999 Ahrens Oct. 22, 1929 2,769,635 Docken Nov. 6, 1956 3,018,101 Mir etal Jan. 23, 1962 

1. AN OCCUPANT-PROPELLED MERRY-GO-ROUND COMPRISING A BASE, A VERTICAL POST RIGIDLY SUPPORTED BY THE BASE, A VERTICAL SLEEVE ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON THE POST BELOW ITS UPPER END, A HORIZONTAL BEVEL GEAR RIGIDLY MOUNTED ON THE UPPER END OF THE POST WITH ITS TEETH FACING UPWARDLY, A GEAR HOUSING RIGIDLY MOUNTED ON THE SLEEVE AND EXTENDING UP PAST SAID GEAR, A HORIZONTAL SHAFT OSCILLATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING ABOVE THE GEAR, A PAIR OF VERTICAL BEVEL GEARS IN THE HOUSING JOURNALED ON THE SHAFT AND MESHING WITH THE HORIZONTAL GEAR AT DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE POINTS, A PAIR OF ONE-WAY CLUTCHES ENGAGING THE SHAFT BETWEEN SAID VERTICAL GEARS IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THEM, MEANS HOLDING THE CLUTCHES FROM TURNING RELATIVE TO THE SHAFT, A PAIR OF OCCUPANT SEATS AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID POST, AND MEANS RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID SHAFT AND TO SAID SEATS TO SUPPORT THE SEATS SO THAT WHEN THEY ARE ROCKED THE SHAFT WILL BE OSCILLATED, ONE OF SAID CLUTCHES TURNING THE ADJOINING VERTICAL GEAR WHEN THE SHAFT IS TURNED IN ONE DIRECTION AND THE OTHER CLUTCH TURNING THE OTHER VERTICAL GEAW WHEN THE SHAFT IS TURNED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, WHEREBY THE VERTICAL GEARS WILL TRAVEL AROUND THE HORIZONTAL GEAR TO CARRY SAID SEATS IN A CIRCULAR PATH AROUND THE POST. 